Dichotomy: Silence and Music
by Gen X
Summary: A ficlet looking at the relationship between Shido and Madoka.


Disclaimer: I do not own Get Backers. It was created by Yuya Aoki and Rando Ayamine, and they do make it ever so wonderful. 

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Dichotomy: Silence and Music  
By Gen X

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There is something about the music that defies description. The feelings it invokes goes beyond the words he could use to express it. He tilts his head back, pillowed on the grass, and stares at the sky. The notes fill the air and the sky seems clearer than ever before. Everything is different now. 

Time is bound to bring change. It's not bad, he knows. It takes some time to adjust to the world he had left behind. People are different here and acceptance is slow coming. Always the comparison between then and now hangs in the air. Sometimes the days of the past linger and haunt the present tempting him with a more simple world of absolutes. 

Yet, the past lacks the lush green grass that spreads out for acres over her estate. It spills over hillsides and makes its way up gentle slopes. The animals love it here. Compared to the dark shadows of Mugenjou, this small bit of nature is paradise. The sun shines freely, and the sky is no longer hindered by the broken steel. The world seems just a bit bigger than before. 

How strange that life would bring him here. Once, the companionship with the VOLTS, bourne of blood and strength, was the only friendship he knew. Yet, it faded and changed, and it seemed as if he would never achieve that level of depth and trust with anyone again. Never is such a negative word, and not always as absolute as one makes it out to be, because in the most unlikely places it has surfaced again. 

Here, in this place, in this house, with this person. The sound of her violin fills the air, and the wind rushes about them as if determined to share the notes that she plays only for him with the world. Her companionship, her acceptance, means more to him than he would ever admit. 

He's not looking at her and wonders if somehow she can tell. Instead, he lets the music consume him, filling him with a contentment he hasn't known before. The beauty of the song could rival nature, eclipsing it in purity and emotion, and she is the cause. 

He rolls over on the grass, his dark eyes watching her. She seems to glow with happiness, and her soul seems to radiate with light. Her expression is always kind and tender, even in concentration. With so many past turmoils in her life, she has ascended them all. She hasn't let them touch her, to color her with their fierce and unforgiving emotion. Understanding, pity, sympathy, and forgiveness are all traits he had pushed aside, and always thought someone a fool for displaying them. 

But not her, never her. 

She is like nothing before, so far removed from the world he knew and so different from all his past experiences. He has nothing that he could possibly compare her too. Perhaps, he never imagined a person such as her. Someone who could know pain and sorrow and not be tempered by the bitterness of life. She wants nothing more than a peaceful life, and to possibly share it with him. 

Their relationship is odd, shy and stumbling as they both struggle to admit and say what they feel. If anyone mentions it, her cheeks color and her words stumble around an awkward explanation. Still, he's not any better, he lacks any way to express his feelings, just as he does with the music. 

Like anyone he favors, he wishes to protect her, but it goes beyond that. He wishes her happiness, and wants to fulfill her wishes and requests. She is not a demanding person, and he must find little favors to do instead. The daily tasks of a household come easier to him then he would have imagined. They exist, together in silence, for the majority of the time. 

Yet, once in a while, when she comes outside to sit with him, the atmosphere is different. Sometimes, it's light. She'll play with Mozart, and he might make the birds sign to her. Usually, it is a time for questions to be asked and answered. One will talk as the other listens in silence. They're both skilled in listening which is why when the words have ended, they can hear the tension in the silence. 

So instead of the awkward quiet, he'll ask her to play the violin, because he knows that makes her happy, and her happiness is a blessing to watch. He'll watch as she smiles and blushes, and unlocks the violin case with care and urgency. She's always excited to be sharing her gift, but more so to fulfill his request, and sooner than naught, the soft sounds fill the air. Then, he'll relax, staring at the sky, and sometimes at her, and give himself over to the music and her company. 

The music expresses words that they can't bring themselves to say. Their emotions go beyond dialogue so complex and brilliant that words would only trap the feeling. So, instead, the music plays, and each new note let's their unspoken love grow. 

_fin_

  



End file.
